It has now been almost one week since Jared Lee Loughner opened fire at a Congress on Your Corner event in Tucson, Arizona. America suffered a national tragedy as six people were killed, including a federal judge and a nine year-old girl, and several others seriously injured, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. In my view, there are many lessons to be learned as a result of this horrific crime and the events that have followed it.
The first lesson we need to learn is that more security is needed at public events where politicians are scheduled to appear. I fully understand that public officials want to make themselves accessible to their constituents, and it is quite admirable that so many of them fear losing touch with the needs of the people whom they serve. But in this day and age, you're asking for trouble if you allow the average citizen to have such close contact with leaders without being searched. I mentioned in my previous post that I was shocked at the lack of security when I attended Governor Christie's town hall meeting in Paramus. Given where I was seated, I could have pulled a gun and fired at least three shots before anyone could have stopped me. I appreciate the governor's position that he will not be motivated by fear, but there is a fine line between fear and imprudence. Having more security at these events is not only wise, it is obligatory if you really want to ensure the safety of everyone present.
The second lesson we have learned is that the liberal press will jump on every opportunity they have to demonize the conservative movement. The New York Times, MSNBC, and several other media outlets blamed pundits such as Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Glenn Beck for the shooting. They criticized the Tea Party, and they singled out Sarah Palin for the cross-hairs she had placed on a map to highlight districts where incumbent Democrats were vulnerable to defeat in the past election. This is a page straight out of Rahm Emanuel's playbook: let's take a tragedy and use it to our political advantage any way that we can. It is a despicable tactic that should be denounced by those on both the left and the right.
Next, we learned that the liberal media could not have been more wrong in their assertions. When the smoke cleared and the investigation proceeded, several interesting facts began to emerge. It was discovered that Jared Lee Loughner did not watch cable news, did not follow politics that closely, and was actually registered to vote as an independent. He was a pot-smoking, skull worshipping atheist who had read the Communist Manifesto. If you were going to demonize anyone over this incident, you'd then have to look to the atheists, drug addicts, and Communists. In the end, all the liberal media did was erode their credibility even further, if that is even possible.
Another lesson we learned is that a memorial service for a national tragedy, or any tragedy for that matter, should not be held on a college campus. I was disgusted by the rally-like atmosphere at the service, where students whooped and hollered and clapped their hands like they were at an Arizona Wildcats' sporting event. Later, it was revealed that the White House was stunned by this behavior and never expected it to happen. That's understandable, but what I can't comprehend is why something was not done about it. President Obama could have gone to the microphone, put up his hand, and simply said "Please." I think that one word would have sent the message needed to make the tone more appropriate for such a solemn occasion.
But I think the most important lesson we learned is that mental illness is an issue that needs to be at the forefront of our nation's agenda. The only reason that politics became associated with the tragedy is that both a congresswoman and federal judge were shot. President Obama can make calls to tone down the political rhetoric all that he wants, the reality is that it had nothing to do with the shooting. The real issue we need to discuss is how to combat mental illness in such a way so as to prevent such an incident from occurring yet again.
When you look at the statements given by Loughner's friends, former classmates, former teachers, etc., the profile of a mentally ill young man clearly emerges. From the bizarre things he said to the socially unacceptable stunts he pulled to his laughing out loud for no apparent reason, it is obvious that this is someone in dire need of psychological help. Yet he never received the help he so desperately needed. Why not? It is quite evident that he was not the type of person who was going to seek out help on his own. Someone needed to refer him, or even have him committed. But who?
We now know that Loughner had previous run-ins with the law. He was arrested at age 16 for underage possession of alcohol. He has also been arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia, and the police had been called several times to his home for domestic disturbances. As of right now, we don't know exactly what the domestic disturbances were about. But my guess would be that his parents feared him and that they were the ones who called the police on him for behavior that they deemed to be dangerous. I could be wrong, but that is my best guess based upon what we know so far.
Loughner attended Pima Community College, where both his classmates and teachers grew to fear him. They suspected that he might one day pull a gun on them, based on his bizarre statements and erratic conduct. He also had run-ins with the campus police there, often times because of his rudeness in the school library. In the end, the college decided to expel him.
So when we look back at this chain of events, we must ask whether anything could have been done along the line that might have prevented Loughner from carrying out his evil task. The local police knew his situation. His family was clearly aware that something was wrong. The college he attended knew that he had severe mental issues. Yet nothing was done, despite the fact that Arizona's criteria for having someone committed is less stringent than most other states.
And so, the final and most important lesson we need to learn from the Tucson tragedy is how families, schools, local police departments, and mental health professionals can work together to get people the psychological help they need. It is now estimated that over 25% of adults suffer from mental illness at some point during their lives. There is no telling what someone will do when they are severely depressed, having a manic or psychotic episode, or suffering from schizophrenia. Such people need treatment, whether through counseling, medication, or both. Looking back, it is very sad for me to think that these lives could have been saved if Loughner received the help he needed and simply took a pill once or twice a day. I hope that our federal and state governments will take a long hard look at this issue in light of what has happened. We need to come up with strategies to deal with this issue effectively, or at least effectively enough to prevent another Tucson-like tragedy from taking place.
No comments:
Post a Comment